Shaped bodies of polymers, in which metals and/or metal compounds are incorporated, produced through introduction of a reactionable metal compound in the form of a solution and precipitating reaction of the metal compound with gaseous precipitation agents, with which the shaped bodies of a polymer, containing the metal compound solution, are attacked with gas, are the subject of an associated application, now Lange et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,463, issued Jan. 5, 1982.
Also, a method for the production of such shaped bodies which is thereby characterized in that one introduces a metal salt solution into a shaped body of polymer, and this is attacked with gaseous precipitating agents and brought to precipitation reaction, is also the subject of the associated application. An important area of application for such shaped bodies is, however, catalytic membranes, and, in particular, special membranes which can find use in artificial organs such as artificial lungs. These membranes contain preferably manganese dioxide, colloidal silver or chelated iron, platinum, silver and gold and, in particular, ruthenium oxide and ruthenium sulfide.
It has turned out that for example, for artificial lungs, a relatively large membrane surface is necessary. In an oxygenator for adults, for example, about 3 m.sup.2 of a catalytic membrane are required. Catalytic membranes, which have been produced according to the associated application, are clearly more sensitive to collapse and tensile strength than normal dialysis membranes, and for that reason are easily vulnerable. One thereby obtains, in spite of greater care in assembly of modules with catalytic membranes according to the associated application, too great a number of unusable oxygenators.